In a statement Thursday, Newcrest said the company-chartered helicopter was travelling from Manado, on Sulawesi island, to the Gosowong gold mine that it operates with PT Aneka Tambang on the island of Halmahera when it went down.

The tropical islands that constitute the complex and mountainous terrain of the Halmahera Rain Forests are an important part of the region known as Wallacea, which contains a very distinctive fauna representing a mix of Asian and Australasian species.